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OAKLAND, Calif. \u2014 California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Friday alongside a coalition of 21 attorneys general and two governors challenging the Trump administration\u2019s attempt to divert federal funding from housing projects, arguing the move could put thousands at risk of homelessness.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s Fiscal Year 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Continuum of Care Program indicates the agency seeks to \u201csteer funding away from permanent supportive housing projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Continuum of Care Program is \u201cthe federal government\u2019s flagship program for funding housing and other services for individuals at risk of and experiencing homelessness,\u201d which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to distribute \u201cbillions of dollars each year to state, local and nonprofit entities to provide housing and services to families and individuals facing homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complaint states that HUD has implemented the Continuum of Care Program to further its stated policy of \u201cimplement[ing] a Housing First approach to reducing homelessness, and driv[ing] equitable community development.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, last week\u2019s press release from Attorney General Bonta noted that the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island \u201cgranted critical parts of the coalition\u2019s motion for summary judgment, ruling that HUD\u2019s conditions restricting CoC funding are unlawful and cannot be implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
The successful federal ruling blocked \u201cHUD\u2019s 2025 CoC NOFO\u201d from diverting \u201cmore than $3 billion in federal funding from those [housing] projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attorney General Bonta said, \u201cThe Trump Administration is once again trying to undermine HUD\u2019s longstanding Housing First approach that has kept and continues to keep our most vulnerable residents housed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit states that \u201cthe Trump Administration has embraced policies that risk trapping people in poverty and punishing them for being poor.\u201d The scoring criteria in \u201cHUD\u2019s 2026 CoC NOFO\u201d were found to \u201cunlawfully [penalize] applicants for continuing to follow HUD\u2019s longstanding Housing First approach.\u201d<\/p>\n
This penalization comes in the form of \u201csteering funding away from proven low-barrier housing that helps people exit homelessness and toward programs that impose conditions before individuals can access housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FY 2026 NOFO seeks to \u201cre-implement a cap on permanent housing,\u201d which would make $1.3 billion unavailable for CoC-funded permanent housing projects and result in \u201ctens of thousands of formerly homeless individuals and families being evicted back to the streets, with states and local governments left to pick up the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, \u201cDefendants have failed to adequately explain their abandonment of Congressionally approved Housing First policies by setting a cap on permanent housing,\u201d leading the coalition to argue that \u201cthe De Facto Cap and 2026 Service Requirement Conditions are blatantly arbitrary and capricious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The press release noted that the \u201cset-aside would effectively cap permanent housing funding below levels necessary to maintain existing projects,\u201d and estimates by the National Alliance to End Homelessness show the decision \u201ccould put at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing at risk of losing their housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s press release stressed that \u201c[p]ermanent supportive housing provides long-term housing stability, transitional housing provides temporary shelter intended as a bridge to permanent housing, and supportive service-only projects provide services without housing assistance.\u201d The De Facto Cap would prevent individuals from obtaining these opportunities and increase their likelihood of housing instability.<\/p>\n
The policies \u201cundermine CoC\u2019s goal of ensuring that individuals and families who have exited homelessness are not forced back onto the streets, as well as Congress\u2019s directive that HUD prioritize renewal funding to support that same objective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attorney General Bonta\u2019s press release states that \u201cCongress has also acted to protect renewal funding for those projects,\u201d making it clear that permanent supportive housing must be protected, and that the state \u201cwill continue fighting to ensure that those who have secured housing stability do not lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media \u2013 X<\/a>, Instagram <\/a>and Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0 Subscribe <\/a>the Vanguard News letters.\u00a0 To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org\/donate<\/a> or give directly through ActBlue<\/a>.\u00a0 Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.<\/p>\n Categories: Breaking News<\/a> Housing<\/a> State of California<\/a> Tags: Continuum of Care<\/a> Homelessness<\/a> Housing First<\/a> HUD<\/a> Rob Bonta<\/a> Trump Administration<\/a>